Government’s management of state-owned property tenants

Response to parliamentary question on the policy of managing state-owned property tenants by Statutory Boards (SBs), as well as roles of SBs in supporting access to space and continuity by groups under their purview, and process for policy reviews and engagement.

Question

Ms Raeesah Khan: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether Statutory Boards accord standardised treatment to state-owned property tenants, especially the National Arts Council and SportsSG; (b) how is oversight exercised to ensure greater transparency, sufficient prior participation, and active informed consent by tenants, whenever leases are terminated or conditions change; (c) what are Statutory Boards’ roles in supporting access to space and continuity by groups under their purview; and (d) whether these processes will be reviewed, and if so, when, and how will the public be informed.

Response

Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Second Minister for Law:

1. State properties, which are not affected by long term development plans, can either be put out for use by tender or directly allocated by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to Statutory Boards which are keen to use these properties to meet their statutory functions. As different Statutory Boards serve different functions, the treatment accorded to their tenants can vary depending on the specific needs and requirements of their operations, the nature of the use, and also the particular needs and circumstances of the specific tenant.
2. The Government regularly reviews its policies and schemes to ensure that they remain effective and relevant, and makes changes where necessary. Such reviews typically involve engagements with relevant stakeholders.
3. I will outline briefly how the National Arts Council (NAC) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) treat arts and sports spaces in general.
   
   NAC’s Framework for Arts Spaces
4. The provision of arts spaces is one of the key means of support which NAC offers to artists and arts groups, alongside grants and other schemes. Under the Framework for Arts Spaces (FFAS) scheme, NAC seeks to build a pipeline of diversified spaces to allow not only more, but also provide for a varied range of practitioners, to utilise different types of spaces for art making, capability development and audience engagement.
5. One of the ways in which this is achieved involves NAC working with SLA to identify potential arts spaces and ensure that they remain affordable. For example, NAC is currently working with SLA to explore how to make available currently unused spaces, for use by the creative community on short-term leases. NAC also works with SLA so that rental rates for arts spaces take into account how the properties are to be used to support NAC’s arts initiatives. In addition, NAC provides significant rental subvention to arts groups and practitioners leasing arts spaces, of at least 80% of these calibrated rates.
6. NAC seeks to strike a balance between providing access to arts spaces for new and emerging artists and arts groups, and also providing continuity for existing groups who can play an important role in our arts landscape. NAC regularly conducts Open Calls for available arts spaces, where the eligibility and assessment criteria are indicated upfront. All applications for spaces are also put through a formal assessment, as part of the approval process. Each tenant who takes up a space is aware of and knows the terms of tenancy, including when the tenancy would come to an end.  In general, NAC directly engages each arts tenant at least 12 months in advance, and often more, when there might be upcoming changes to tenancy terms or where a tenancy is coming to an end. This includes assistance and support to the tenant to identify alternative spaces, if appropriate.
7. To ensure that its policies keep pace with evolving needs, NAC reviews its schemes from time to time, and engages the arts community as part of the process. This was the case for the FFAS ahead of its 2010 launch. During the consultation sessions for FFAS, there was broad agreement among the arts community that arts housing could be better optimised, with the concept of shared facilities also well-received.
8. In addition, the arts community requested for a gradual and phased approach in transiting tenants out of the old Arts Housing Scheme (AHS), which NAC has undertaken, and AHS has gradually been replaced by the FFAS, since 2010. Key enhancements to the FFAS include providing targeted schemes with differentiated support to meet the different needs of artists and arts groups at various stages of their development. For instance, higher rental grants and a longer tenure of up to nine years are provided to mature and established arts groups, compared to those who are new and in their developing stages. FFAS also focuses on creating platforms to bring arts to the surrounding community, such as programming events and activities that introduce arts tenants to the public and co-locating artists and arts groups in community or commercial spaces. NAC publicly shared notes from the 2010 consultations on its website, together with the rationale behind its policy decisions, before it first rolled-out the FFAS at GAC.
9. NAC will continue to engage the arts community and other stakeholders for the next edition of Our SG Arts Plan, including envisioning how arts spaces can better serve Singapore’s evolving arts landscape.
   
   SportSG’s facilitation of sports spaces
   
10. The Member also asked a broad question, on sports. For sports, SportSG encourages and facilitates the use of sports spaces and facilities by National Sports Associations (NSAs) for the promotion and development of sports in Singapore. Such arrangements take guidance from the Multi-Year Sports Plans (MYSPs) that are discussed annually between SportSG and the respective NSAs, which addresses the holistic development of the sport in question, and also takes into account the specific needs and requirements of the sport and NSA in question.
11. In accordance with existing guidelines, the leasing of such sites may be facilitated by SportSG through direct allocation, to support the NSAs in promoting their sport within the community. SportSG provides a facilities grant as part of its annual funding for NSAs. SportSG will engage the NSA tenants well in advance, in cases where there are changes to such arrangements or upon the expiry of tenure.  Such occasions might arise when there is a need to repurpose existing sites for other uses, or to temporarily relocate as facilities are being upgraded. Where possible, SportSG works with the NSAs to identify suitable replacement sites and arrangements ahead of time to facilitate such transitions.